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Wizards Fall To 2-15 & Lose Another Starter

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 8: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots against Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards during the game at the Verizon Center on December 8, 2012 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

(Credit: Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP)–David Lee had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 23 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 101-97 on Saturday night for their third straight road win.

Stephen Curry scored 22 points for the Warriors, who won the first three games of a road trip for the first time since February, 2003.

Golden State, on a seven-game trip, is 13-7 overall, the first time it’s been six games over .500 since the end of the 2007-08 season.

On Friday, the Warriors won at Brooklyn in coach Mark Jackson’s homecoming, and they followed it with a close victory over the Wizards (2-15).

Jordan Crawford had 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, tying a season high for points and assists. Bradley Beal scored 17 points, Kevin Seraphin and Cartier Martin both had 14. All of Martin’s points came in the second quarter. Martin did not attempt a shot in the second half.

Washington lost its first 12 this season, then won two of three, including an improbable victory over Miami on Tuesday before a flat performance at Atlanta on Friday.

The Wizards, who trailed most of the way, pulled into an 84-all tie when Chris Singleton hit one of two free throws with 4 minutes to play, but Golden State outscored Washington 9-1 on five points by Thompson, a jumper by Jarrett Jack and a layup by Lee to take a 93-85 lead with 2:19 to play.

Beal hit a 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left to allow Washington to pull within 97-96. Curry hit two free throws, and Beal was fouled with 4.2 seconds to play. He hit the first, deliberately missed the second, Nene tipped the ball to Beal, whose shot missed badly. Carl Landry hit two free throws with 2 seconds left to seal it.

The Warriors, winners of 10 of their last 12, are now 6-1 against the East. They had a 57-37 advantage on the boards.

The Warriors sped to an early lead and were ahead 35-23 three minutes into the second quarter. Washington cut into it and trailed 50-47 at halftime.

The Wizards kept the game tight in the third quarter and could have ended it tied, but Nene missed the free throw of a possible three-point play and trailed 71-70 after three.

After the game Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman said point guard AJ Price has a fracture in his right hand and added, “he’s going to miss some time”. Price said he was told 4-to-6 weeks, but said he’s a “quick healer”.

This puts the Wizards in a pretty big bind because they still have no timetable for point guard John Wall to return.

“Hopefully we can pull together for him,” Wizards guard Jordan Crawford said about losing Price.

Crawford played point guard for the majority of the game in Price’s absence.

The Wizards also have the same exact record, 2-15, that they had one year ago 17 games into the season and Randy Wittman didn’t mix his words on what he thinks of that.